Texas musician and politician Kinky Friedman is shutting down his eponymous cigar company, Kink Friedman Cigars. The company made the announcement on its Facebook page and website earlier today, indicating that it will offer its remaining inventory on November 29 and will shut down once that inventory is gone.

Habana Cuba Cigar Co. 5.png

Kinky Friedman cigars were made by Habana Cuba Cigar Co., better known as Oliveros. Interestingly, the Oliveros label itself also appears to no longer be in production. The large difference is Rafael Nodal, owner of Habana Cuba Cigar Co., has transitioned the company into Boutique Blends Cigars, makers of Aging Room and SWAG.

The message posted by Kinky Friedman Cigars reads as follows:

Friends,

After six and a half incredible, yet hard-fought years, we regret to announce that, when our current limited supply of cigars runs out, Kinky Friedman Cigars will be out of the cigar business.

Over six years ago when we launched Kinky Friedman Cigars, we were enthusiastic and optimistic about the new cigar business, and so, it is with heavy hearts that we lay our last cigar in the ashtray.

We are proud of the business we built and the many friendships we made over the years. We thank our loyal customers, dedicated vendors and the handful of generous mentors who helped guide us through this challenging, historic and one-of-a-kind business.

It’s been a genuine pleasure and a privilege to work with you all. We wish you continued success in your endeavors and hope that our paths will cross again.

Our final holiday sale begins this weekend (Nov. 29), and when the remaining cigar inventory has been sold, we will not restock, but will continue to sell non-cigar merchandise. It’s a novel idea—a cigar company that doesn’t sell cigars. (We like to think we’re always ahead of the curve.)

Never ones to lay low, you can find Kinky running for Agriculture Commissioner in Texas and will soon find Little Jewford on stage performing his original solo show. You can track them down at:
Kinky Friedman     Website     Facebook     Twitter
Little Jewford        Website     Facebook     Twitter

Again, thank you for your friendship and loyalty over the years. We appreciate it!

Kinky Friedman Cigars

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.